Dear Diary,
I feel much better now. The Temthans have accepted me into their ranks. Now that I am no longer fighting them, my body is taking to the various medications I have been given.
One of the… tests I faced was unusual. It hurt quite a lot, but it completely healed my body of any scars, bruises, everything. Even my wings, my beautiful gold and black wings, have grown back. There have been some unfortunate and unintended side effects though. My claws have grown longer and harder and I appear to have sprouted small horns, one on each side of my head, that look like Temthan horns. Apparently this is not to do with the test, but the issue lies with my own psionic powers. During the test, I believed I was a Temthan and was treated like one, so my subconscious decided to go ahead and make me more Temthan-y.
Still, things are much less tense now. If I had known from the start that I was doomed to live among the Temthans forever, I would have been far more open to their ways.
Anyway, I am now being taken to see ‘someone special’. The ship that picked me on, the Twin Raptoric, docked with another ship, the Temthan Crown. The other ship is actually smaller than this one. Ekim and two of his Raptesses escorted me to the Temthan Crown. Another Temthan has taken over the Twin Raptoric and gone off elsewhere to carry on with its duty.
We were met with some very strong bodyguards, who took me and the Raptesses to meet with other Raptesses. They bathed the three of us (and played with us a little) then gave me a few pieces of clothing to put on. It was really just a fabric belt to go around my waist and cover my lower regions (which I don’t really need to do because I have organic armour!), a fabric sash with gold embroidery and a heavy chain around my neck.
After that, the Raptesses took me to a new room, one with a stream of wine in it, and gold embroidered cushions and blankets everywhere. They put me in the middle of the room then a larger Raptess (who I found out was also called Neraida but the one I met before stayed on the Twin Raptoric) walked up to me.
She dipped her claws into the stream of wine then ran her fingers across my face, then down my body, ripping off the chain, the sash and the belt before, uh, tickling me a little. The other Raptesses then did the same. Neraida then spoke to me and named me Xentress, before taking me away to the room I am in now.
I’m not sure what Xentress actually means. It’s clearly a title because everyone is still calling me Arkay. It’s actually only just occurred to me that none of them know my surname, but I don’t really need that any more, so they don’t need to know. The Temthans seem to only be interested in me and not my (perhaps former?) race. I’m assuming that the title is similar to that of Raptess? Not sure.
But yes, I’m now Xentress Arkay and everyone seems to really, really be into me. Now though, I am far more capable of returning the favour, which I may very well do once things have settled down a bit. I think almost all of this is because of my dual sexuality. The Temthans don’t seem to have met a being with both working parts before. I can’t complain. Although I do wonder if I would have ended up as dinner had I been solely male. I probably would have been fine being solely female but it’s clear that, despite the looks and strengths of the male Temthans, the female Temthans are the ones in control.
Despite my agreement to fully join the Temthans, I do have one worry. I’ve mentioned it to Ekim and every Raptess I’ve met. I’ve asked them to not consider home a threat, or try and attack it. One Raptess, Pagia, said I should hold on to that question until I see the someone special. I’ve explained repeatedly to everyone that my kind are a simple kind who are not a threat to anyone and should be left alone. I pray to the Lady that the Temthans will heed my wishes…
Reading that back seemed weird for a moment. You see, I didn’t really think any of this would happen. I thought I’d be working in the bottom of a dirty ship for a few months or years, not being brought into the higher ranks of a religion. The most worrying thing now is that I am actually genuinely starting to believe in it. It’s a loose religion but also a way of life.
Death was right. I should be grateful. I have a new life ahead of me.
I have to stop writing. They’re calling me in to meet this special someone… Will write later.
– Arkay